A Variegated Insight on Stalinism and De-Stalinization of the Eastern Bloc and Western Europe: A Case Study of the Post World War II Era

Abstract

The objective of the research is to x-ray the communist style of government unleashed in Europe by Stalinism as well as examine the resistance and repudiation of this Post-World War 1 communist government pattern of ex-Soviet’s Joseph Stalin within the spectrum of Balkan region and its contiguous entities.Scope: The scope of the research will seem to encompass the following dimensions: the ex-Soviet Union, Yugoslavia between 1946 and 1953, Hungary in 1947-1957, Czechoslovakia in the 50s and 60s and Western Europe, as in the case of Italy.Introduction: Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’s Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953.His communist philosophy and style of government was exemplified in Stalinism and was the leader of Soviet Union after Lennin’s demise. He put in place a command economy that brought about rapid industrialisation and economic collectivisation.However, the agricultural sector was disturbed and this unleashed the Soviet famine of 1932-1933.Towards the end of the 1930s, Stalin campaigned and purged the Communist Party of people accused of sabotage, terrorism, or treachery.This is known in political circles as the Great Purge or "Great Terror." He often executed,imprisoned his victims or have them exiled and the minorities were deported.He formed an alliance with Nazi Germany in 1939 when he failed in a bid to establish a general security system in Europe.Germany however violated this accord by invading Soviet Union in 1941. In response,Stalin was prompted to join the allied forces which brought about the defeat of Germany.On a comparative basis,the surrender of Germany was a Pyrrhic victory for Soviet Union as it sustained the highest deaths in the World War II as death toll climbed to over 23 million.Stalin made efforts to enhance his public image and in the process a cult of personality developed around him and he further established communist governments in most of Eastern Europe, forming the Eastern bloc thereby instituting a metaphorical ‘’Iron Curtain’’ with Western allies on one side and Soviet Union on the opposite side of the divide.This posturing attracted the indignation of United States and the western allies and marked the beginning of the Cold War which crumbled Soviet Union in 1991.